


Only One

by nastyspaghetti



Category: Highlander (Movies), Queen (Band)
Genre: Action, Band, Bass - Freeform, Classic Rock, Death, Drums, Fighting, Gen, Guitar, Music, Short Story, Singing, Songs, Swordfighting, don’t copy to other sites, rock music, singer - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 19:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20587931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nastyspaghetti/pseuds/nastyspaghetti
Summary: The other members of Queen had already left the building and were impatiently waiting for their lead singer to join them outside.However, for some reason, the singer decided that he needed a minute alone.Or ten minutes rather...The EXIT sign above the door glowed in the dark with a faded red as Freddie Mercury dragged his feet on the floor and down the long hallway.Now, he only desired two things at the moment: to feel the chilled breeze of the outside world that just laid beyond that door and his bed.Freddie felt absolutely exhausted, for almost the entire day him and his mates had been a part of a music video for a new film that starred Christopher Lambert as the lead.Highlander was the movie's name.Freddie went to push the door open when he realized that one of his hands wasn't free, it was still holding his half mike stand.That's when he felt someone breathing down his neck.





	1. Part One

"That's a wrap!" the director shouted from his chair once the music had been turned off.

They had done it, they had finally finished filming.

This _wasn't_ Queen's first time doing a music video, this one they had actually enjoyed doing, especially since the four of them had grown to like the film it was attached to just by viewing the first twenty minutes of it.

_Highlander _was the name of the movie, the band had thought that the movie was absolutely perfect for both them and their music.

"Great job everyone! Enjoy your weekend!" The director said with a huge smile as he gave a thumbs up to the band, each of them gave a tired smile in return.

Assistants to both the stage and the band scurried onto the set, ready to grab all the equipment they could carry to put away, they needed to work quickly since the building was to be closed down for the night.

Both Brian May and John Deacon put their guitars back on their stands, Roger Taylor put his drum sticks down and Freddie Mercury, well, he _thought _he had given his half mike stand to a worker...

The four men got out of the workers' way and made their way to the door, they passed the lead actor, Christopher Lambert, and exchanged proud grins with slaps on the back.

Everyone was beat and covered with sweat, _especially_ Freddie, even though the place was air conditioned and rather large, the lights and fog machines that were focused on five, heavily dressed men had brewed up quite a storm of humidity.

Freddie had not stopped moving since this morning, his clothes were drenched in sweat and his joints ached, he had basically been running around a stage while clutching a half mike stand and lip syncing a song into a camera for hours.

Oh and let's not forget the duel he had with Christopher Lambert by clashing his mike stand with Lambert's sword.

_ • Earlier • _

_"I tell you this one wins!" Freddie exclaimed with a huge smile while proudly holding up his mike stand, Lambert fell into a fit of laughter and continued to twirl around his sword._

_ • Now • _

Brian, Roger and John were chatting with the director, whose face was filled to the brim with excitement and eagerness to call it a day, the boys hadn't noticed their lead singer being awfully quiet.

The director then turned to Freddie and placed a friendly hand on the singer's shoulder.

"Thank you," the director said quietly. "_Mr. Mercury_."

A sly smile crept onto his lips, he knew that title would make Freddie's ears perk up.

Awkward smiles crawled onto the faces of the band mates when they heard that all-too-proper name leap from the director's mouth, but their smiles soon melted away when Freddie _didn't _respond.

He just kept staring at the door at the end of the hallway, his lips started to twitch nervously over his overbite.

The lights above the men then flickered, making Freddie jump, a wave of uneasiness washed over everyone.

"Fred?" Brian's stern voice bled into the air, this only made everyone _more _uneasy.

"Freddie!" John exclaimed, his voice wasn't loud by any means but it was sharp like a dog whistle.

"Hm? Yes, John?" Freddie finally said, his eye contact broke away from the door.

John exhaled through his nose and nodded towards the director, who quickly cleared his throat.

"Uh, um..." the director began fumbling with his words as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Freddie cleared his throat and shifted his weight onto his other foot while staring at the nervous director.

"I've- um- I've forgotten what I was going to say!" the director said, chuckling and scratching his head.

Freddie cracked his neck and flashed a toothy grin, he scratched his mustached, upper lip and put his hand on the director's shoulder while slowly leaning in towards the director's ear.

"Again, dear," Freddie whispered. "Call me Freddie."

The director nodded furiously and let out a light chuckle, he _still_ couldn't believe he was in the presence of this legend.

The surrounding atmosphere grew quiet as everyone began to go their separate ways, the band went down the hallway while the director and his workers went through an another door.

Roger clapped his hands and ruffled up John's hair which made John's dimples shine through his smile, Roger then went to do the same to Brian but was greeted with a pointed index finger as a warning.

Brian was more focused on Freddie than Roger's antics.

"Freddie? You coming?" Brian asked while staring at his friend who still stood at the entrance to the hallway.

"Yeah," Freddie replied with a wink. "Be out in a minute, Bri."

"You alright, Fred?" John asked while standing next to Brian.

"Yes! Just tired..." Freddie said, he felt a little irritated that all the attention _had _to be on him, he was completely fine!

At least, he _thought _he was...

"Just- uh- wait for me outside, please," Freddie muttered with a small grin. "Ten minutes."

The door slammed shut, making a loud, echoing noise that bounced off the walls.

Freddie let out a cough as he slid down the wall and sat with his legs spread out on the floor, he slowly breathed in and out and let his entire body relax.

His hands became numb, they were motionless against the cold floor, he didn't even feel the metallic body of his mike stand on the palm of his hand anymore.

Minutes started to pass, from two to five to seven minutes...

Ten minutes, that's all Freddie needed.

Interrupting his tranquil state, he stood up, not even noticing his hand that still held his mike stand.

Letting out a yawn, he stretched his arms out and slowly dragged his feet towards the door, his eyes never leaving the glowing, red EXIT sign.

Right now, he only wanted to feel the outside air and sleep in his comfy bed.

As soon as his right foot made contact with the floor, the lights flickered again which only made Freddie's heart rate quicken.

Freddie picked up the pace and soon reached the door, he went to push the door open when he realized that one of his hands wasn't free.

It was still grasping his mike stand.

That's when he felt someone breathing down his neck.


	2. Part Two (FINAL)

"Ever dance with death before?" an unknown fiend whispered into the ear of the now trembling singer.

Freddie had done every dance imaginable, death was practically his go-to partner until he'd eventually escape it's captivating grasp.

From the tango to the waltz, from within the bed sheets or through drugs and/or alcohol, death seemed to be a dangerously close acquaintance to Freddie that would soon vanish, leaving the singer either hungover or beyond exhausted.

It was as if death was waiting for the right moment to strike.

The heavy breathing wouldn't cease.

Freddie felt as if his heart had taken a backseat as a sort of 'fuck you' for all the things Freddie had done to it, his heartbeat was _barely _there.

Maybe it was all the partying?

Performing?

Smoking?

Freddie's lips quivered as they opened slightly as if to say something, but his lungs wouldn't even allow an exhale exit through the gates of his mouth.

He was stuck.

Well, until he felt a sharp blade poke at his side, dangerously threatening to puncture his flesh.

Freddie started to squirm while being pinned against the wall by this person, his cheek pressed up against the cold surface, from the corner of his eye he could see the heavy breathing that currently blew out from his flaring nostrils was fogging up a spot on the wall, the palm of his free hand stayed glued to the wall while his grip on his mike stand grew tighter with each passing second.

Freddie closed his eyes, trying desperately to relax both himself and his nerves.

"Make so much as a peep and I'll stick this sword right up where the sun don't shine, understood?" the mysterious being threatened.

Freddie's head automatically nodded as his eyes popped open and his eyebrows furrowed, his chest grew tight as he stifled a giggle.

At least this person had a sense of humor.

Well, Freddie wasn't completely sure if this person who currently had him pinned up against a wall was even _human._

This... _thing's_ voice sounded croaky and deep, every word that came out of it's mouth was covered with a demonic growl that rumbled deep within the confines of the being's chest.

The only thing Freddie could say for sure was that this thing was male.

However, the voice is _not_ what scared Freddie.

Tightly grasping the mike stand with a sweaty hand, the wheels in Freddie's head started to slowly turn, both ideas and escape plans darted around, bouncing left and right in his cranium.

Even bloody song lyrics were  
floating around!

Maybe this was just some hooligan looking to rob Freddie?

Kill him?

Rape him?

Freddie cleared his throat, trying to think of something witty or intimidating to say but nothing was coming to mind.

"Is your name Farrokh Bulsara?" the thing asked.

Here was the perfect opportunity!

A witty comeback was definitely on the horizon.

"Who wants to know?" Freddie replied, the words jumping from his tongue, a sly smile crept onto his squished lips.

Freddie trailed his free hand on the wall towards an empty space between his chest and the wall, he was planning to push himself off the wall.

"Wha—" the creature began, clearly confused, he was soon cut off when he was violently shoved off his victim.

Freddie shook his head around and cracked his neck, his tired joints were stiff and sore, being pinned against a wall didn't help one bit.

Freddie tightly gripped his mike stand while he sharply exhaled through his nose, he could finally get a good look at this _thing_ he was dealing with.

The creature was bound in a black cloak that was draped along it's body, it hung all the way down the floor and over his head like a hood, within the hood was the ghastly image of a skull with sharp talons for teeth.

It was the Grim Reaper, who also happened to be wielding a large sword instead of a scythe.

Odd.

Freddie Mercury was literally staring right at death.

"You're a tricky one," the Grim Reaper quipped. "Such a waste."

With the click of his bony finger, a sound reverberated around the hallway.

An echoing sound was accompanied with what sounded like a low, grunting noise that got more intense as the seconds flew by.

It was coming from the singer.

The floor shook when Freddie's mike stand came in contact with the tiled ground.

Freddie started to feel sick, his insides felt like they burning up, it was as if his body was being slowly microwaved to the point of explosion, the pain was immense.

For all he knew, his body was on the verge of completely shutting down.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Death asked, his voice was unreadable, his skull remained emotionless as it should be, but there seemed to be a permanent glare on his skinless face.

"W-Why... _argh!" _Freddie growled in pain, his hands clenched and unclenched as his fingers curled around both his stomach and forehead, he was dripping with sweat.

"You've cheated _me _one too many times," Grim hissed. "Now, it's time for you to meet _Ahura Mazda_."

Freddie flinched as the pain inside him worsened, he hadn't heard that name since he was a child.

Ahura Mazda, the highest deity in Zoroastrianism.

Freddie wasn't a religious person, far from it, but that didn't mean he didn't value such things that made him who he was.

He was proud of who he was.

He kept quiet when it came to his Zoroastrian roots, he wasn't ashamed of it, but he didn't feel like the _whole _world needed to know about it.

Freddie's body started to violently shake as his mouth flopped open, his lungs felt like they were about to explode, no sounds or words dripped from his gaping mouth.

His life began flashing before his eyes.

His parents.

His sister.

His bandmates.

Brian May.

Roger Taylor.

John Deacon.

His fans.

All the times he spent with these people, the countless amounts of hours of him living the high life, all the drinks he drained, the meals he poked at with his fork, the microphones he breathed and spat on when he sang his heart out to crowds of millions.

The copious amounts of hours he spent entertaining the youth with his otherworldly voice.

All the blood, sweat and tears he put into his life's work was about to flow right down the fucking drain.

All for a supernatural entity's sick game.

It lived in the shadow of creation and probably had a damn good time getting off to the sounds of people begging for mercy, to spare them from their inevitable fate.

Freddie _wasn't_ going to bite the dust just yet.

The singer's legs moved faster than his brain could process as he charged at the being with the speed of an angry drunk.

Slamming into unsuspecting fiend, Freddie finally stopped clutching his stomach and tried desperately to hold the being down on the floor.

Whipping his head around, Freddie stretched his leg out as his foot trapped the slim figure of his mike stand, his foot dragged it along the floor and towards his body when he suddenly felt a sharp pain between his legs.

Freddie had been so focused on getting his mike stand that he didn't see the cloaked leg bang into his _specially reserved _area.

Gritting and grinding his teeth, his grip on the Reaper was broken as one of his hands went straight down to tend to his _down there _areawhile his other hand continued to firmly grasp the half mike stand.

With another snap of his skinless finger, the two were no longer in the dimly lit hallway.

They were in a dark room with a flickering light.

The Grim Reaper forcefully moved Freddie's head down to face what was below the light.

They were bloody, bruised and beaten up, saying they looked unrecognizable was an understatement.

The light danced happily among their corpses and broken instruments, it reflected off the Red Special guitar.

Freddie had seen what a drunken fistfight could do to Roger's face before, but this took the cake.

Freddie didn't think Brian's hair could get any messier.

Oh, John, poor John still looked exhausted even in death.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the Grim Reaper murmured. "They didn't last very long."

The grip on the mike stand grew dangerously tight.

"Such a waste." the Reaper said, his voice sounded almost gleeful.

The heart rate grew faster as his chest danced inside the lining of his shirt in an up and down motion.

"A shame really," the being muttered. "Such talent some of you mortals have."

The eyes began to flare, the lips twitched and slithered into a tight visual as the teeth began to grit with the clenched jaw.

The Grim Reaper now stared at Freddie, who was started to develop a dark aura around him.

His hands clenched and unclenched as the faint, but existent muscles on his exposed arms bulged, pulsating with every movement.

The vein on his head popped out and wiggled as his brows arched into a permanent glare of hatred and disgust.

Oh, and the rage, the amount of rage was too much!

A scream of pure, unmistakable anger filled the void of darkness.

The reality the two were currently in was soon interrupted when the loud noise of someone banging on the door broke through the silence.

They were back in the hallway, but this time, Freddie had his mike stand locked onto the skinless chest of the being, all he needed to do was push it in to puncture the heart of evil.

The Grim Reaper's sockets burned into the eyes of it's now growling victim, whose eyes were flaring with an unstoppable rage.

Drawing his sword and slowly floating away from Freddie's gaze, the two began to duel.

Freddie's body was boiling up with an unquenchable thirst to murder this fiend with the slow cracking of it's bones.

One-by-one, he'd break every single one of these motherfucker's bones until there was nothing but dust on the floor.

Absolutely _no one_ hurts Freddie's family...

The clashing of their metals made many sparks dance around their weapons until-

*_SHING_!*

Freddie's mike stand was now stuck in the gaps of the bones in the Reaper's body, which ended up going through the being's heart of darkness.

"Pity," Freddie quipped darkly.

"H-How...?" the Grim Reaper croaked.

"I'm Freddie Mercury, darling," Freddie said with fake joy, he leaned in closer into the side of the cloaked figure's head, presumably where the Reaper's 'ear' was.

"Test me again," Freddie whispered, his voice shook with rage. "I _dare_ you."

With a sudden burst of black smoke, the figure disappeared.

The door in the hallway that led to the outside world was soon broken down as Freddie fainted from exhaustion and quickly was carried away by his mates.

•••

_Here we are._   
_Born to be kings._   
_We're the princes of the universe._

_Here we belong._   
_Fighting to survive in a war with the darkest powers._

_And here we are._   
_We're the princes of the universe._   
_Here we belong,_   
_Fighting for survival._   
_We've come to be the rulers of your world._

_I am immortal._   
_I have inside me blood of kings._   
_I have no rival._   
_No man can be my equal._   
_Take me to the future of your world._

_Born to be kings._   
_Princes of the universe._   
_Fighting and free._   
_Got your world in my hand._   
_I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand._   
_We were born to be princes of the universe._

_No man could understand._   
_My power is in my own hand._   
_Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh._   
_People talk about you._   
_People say you've had your day._

_I'm a man that will go far._   
_Fly the moon and reach for the stars,_   
_With my sword and head held high._   
_Got to pass the test first time._

_I know that people talk about me._   
_I hear it every day,_   
_But I can prove you wrong_   
_'Cause I'm right first time._

_Alright, let's go, let's go, ha, ha._   
_Watch this man fly._   
_Bring on the girls._   
_Come on, come on, come on._

_Here we are._   
_Born to be kings._   
_We're the princes of the universe._   
_Here we belong._

_Born to be kings._   
_Princes of the universe._   
_Fighting and free._   
_Got your world in my hand._   
_I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand._   
_We were born to be princes of the universe._


End file.
